Part of the Sea of Conquest Resources Series:

Resources Hub: Every resource and where it comes from.

How to Get Gold Fast: Why trading tops the list.

Recipes Hub: Where your trade stock comes from.

Sailing Guide: The map you are trading across.

Quick Answer

Trading moves goods between ports for profit, and once auto trade is configured it becomes the best passive gold income in Sea of Conquest. Set up a maritime trade route, load it with surplus you were producing anyway, and let it run.

The two things that decide whether it is worth doing: route quality (price difference versus travel time) and what you ship (ordinary-tier crafted surplus, never rare materials).

How Trading Works

Ports have different prices and demands. Buy where a good is cheap, sell where it is wanted. The spread is your profit.

Travel time is the real cost. A high-margin route across the map can earn less per hour than a modest one nearby. Always evaluate profit per round trip time, not profit per unit.

Port prosperity affects prices. Ports have a development or prosperity level influencing what they pay and what they stock. Higher-prosperity ports are generally better trading partners, and developing the ones you control raises your own income.

Routes can be intercepted. Loaded trade ships on the open map are targets. Trading inside or near friendly alliance waters is meaningfully safer — see the alliance guide.

Setting Up Auto Trade

Auto trade is what turns trading from a chore into income, and it is the single reason trading ranks first in the gold guide.

The setup:

Identify a route with a good margin and short travel time. Nearby beats lucrative.
Assign a fleet — capacity matters far more than combat power here, so use cheap hulls with capacity trinkets rather than your combat ships.
Configure the goods you want bought and sold.
Enable auto trade and check in periodically rather than constantly.

What makes a route good:

Short travel time. The dominant factor.
Consistent demand, so the margin does not collapse after two runs.
Safe waters, ideally within or adjacent to alliance territory.
Goods you already produce, so you are not buying your own trade stock.

That last point is the key insight. The best trade route is one where you are the supplier — shipping surplus from your galley and distillery that cost you nothing but gathering you were doing anyway.

What to Ship

Ship: ordinary-tier crafted surplus, low-grade food and drinks including undesirable food, and genuinely surplus basic materials.

Do not ship: rare crafting ingredients, gated materials, ship parts, trinket materials, or anything a flagship upgrade might want. The gold never covers the cost of re-acquiring them, and the requirement always arrives later.

The test: if you would be annoyed to need this item next week and not have it, do not trade it.

Ports: Upgrading and Prosperity

Ports are more than trade stops. Controlling and developing them feeds your economy directly.

Neutral ports can be taken and developed. A level 1 neutral port is a reasonable early target and a common early alliance objective.

Port upgrades raise prosperity, which raises the income and trading value the port generates. This is slow, compounding investment — exactly the kind that pays over a season.

Alliance-held ports are safer to trade through and often carry bonuses. Coordinating port control with your alliance is worth more than holding one alone.

Port prosperity is a shared benefit. Developing ports your alliance uses improves everyone's economy, which makes it one of the better things to contribute if you want to be visibly useful — and visibility gets you rally invites and intel.

Trading Efficiently

Use dedicated trade fleets. Cheap hulls, capacity loadouts, uninvested heroes. Never your combat ships — the opportunity cost is enormous.

Run trade alongside gathering. Separating fleets so one trades while another gathers is the same efficiency gain the formations guide recommends, applied to the economy.

Check margins periodically. Prices and demand shift, and a route that was excellent last week can be mediocre now. A check every few days is enough.

Re-evaluate at season rotation. New maps mean new ports, new distances and new routes. Your old route may not exist.

FAQ

How do I set up auto trade in Sea of Conquest?

Pick a short, high-demand route, assign a capacity-focused fleet, configure the goods, and enable auto trade. Check margins periodically rather than constantly.

What is the best thing to trade?

Ordinary-tier crafted surplus from your galley and distillery. You produce it from gathering you were doing anyway, so the margin is nearly pure profit.

Can my trade ships be attacked?

Yes. Loaded traders on the open map are targets. Trade in or near friendly alliance waters where possible.

What is port prosperity?

A development level affecting what a port pays and stocks. Higher prosperity means better trading, and developing ports benefits your whole alliance.

Should I use combat ships for trading?

No. Capacity matters, combat power does not. Use cheap hulls with capacity loadouts and keep your combat fleet free.

Is trading better than gathering for gold?

For gold specifically, yes — trading converts at a better rate. But they are not exclusive: separate your fleets and do both.

Key Takeaways

Auto trade is the best passive gold income in the game.
Evaluate routes by profit per round trip, not profit per unit.
Ship your own crafted surplus — the margin is nearly pure profit.
Never trade rare materials. The requirement always arrives.
Dedicated cheap trade fleets, never your combat ships.

Sea of Conquest Trading Guide: Trade Routes, Auto Trade and Ports